The father of a missing Tennessee girl gave a new interview four weeks after Summer Wells disappeared and as police seem no closer to the truth of what happened to his daughter.
Summer Wells, 5, was reported missing on June 15 after her parents said disappeared from inside the home. Her father Don Wells has maintained since her initial disappearance that Summer was kidnapped; though authorities said they do not have evidence pointing to an abduction, and that they remained unclear about the circumstances of her initial disappearance weeks after the little girl vanished from her home in rural east Tennessee.
Police have not named any specific persons of interest, but Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson told WVLT that “everybody is still a person of interest.”
In a recent interview with the Kingsport Times-News Don Wells indicated the he believes his daughter is no longer alive.
“Statistically speaking there’s a good chance she’s already dead,” Don Wells said. “I hate to think that. I love her with all my heart. If nothing else, I’ll see her in the resurrection. As long as I keep the commandments and do what I’m supposed to do, I’ll see her.”
Summer’s father also appeared to confirm, as previous local reports have suggested, that he was not at home at the time Summer disappeared from her home.
“She’s been abducted in my mind, 100%,” Don Wells said when asked if he still believes his daughter was kidnapped.
“I know [Summer’s mother] Candus wouldn’t lie to me about any of the facts. She has no reason to, and she wouldn’t lie.”
Don Wells also insisted that both he and his wife passed a lie detector test, appearing to reference speculation that they had not.
“At first I didn’t get no sleep for two days. I couldn’t sleep for two days. It was the worst misery and pain I’ve ever felt in my life. I wasn’t able to take a lie detector test. They made me wait a little bit, but when I did take it I passed,” Summer’s father said.
“They made Candus wait five days longer to take hers,” he continued. She just wasn’t able to. She tried and she wasn’t able to. People are saying we failed and we took another test. That’s not the case, so when we did take them we both passed.”
On Tuesday, June 22, one week after Summer reportedly disappeared, Don Wells told WKRN that his wife Candus Bly passed a lie detector test, and that she was immediately called to the investigation command center.
“My wife just left the district attorney’s office with the FBI, and she passed her lie detector test,” Donald Wells told WKRN on June 22. “Then they told her to hurry down to the command center because they just got a tip, so we’re freaking out right now.”
At the time of the report, the the Hawkins County District Attorney’s Office reportedly confirmed that Bly was at the office, but authorities have not released any further information about the meeting or any possible tip.
In the June 22 interview, Don Wells did not mention taking a lie detector test himself.
In the recent interview, Don Wells also said that Summer’s grandmother, who appears to live at their home, had also passed a lie detector test, and said that Summer’s three juvenile brothers had been questioned in some capacity.
“They took [the brothers] into specialists because they couldn’t come out and question them,” Don Wells said. “But yes, they have questioned them. They also gave my mother-in-law a lie-detector test, and she also passed.”
Listen to the full interview with Summer Wells’ father Don Wells at the Kingston Times-News.
Read CrimeOnline’s comprehensive coverage of the Summer Wells missing persons investigation here.
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